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Mobile World Congress 2015 – Cool New Tech Trends

The city of Barcelona hosted the Mobile World Congress (MWC) for the tenth year in a row at the start of March, with a number of the tech world’s big players in attendance.

With brand new products being unveiled and the future of the industry teased, the conference created plenty of headlines. The following are just a few of the highlights to emerge from the event.

Galaxy S unveiled

Samsung revealed its next contender for the smartphone market in the form of the S6. Sporting a screen that curves around the sides of the phone, the device represents the next major rival for Apple’s iPhone 6.

The manufacturing process has also changed for Samsung, with the smartphone now being made out of metal and glass as opposed to the plastic of previous models

Along with the rival smartphone, the company has also developed a digital payment system to compete with Apple Pay. Titled Samsung pay, it aims to offer the same functionality as Apple’s offering, exclusively for Android software.

Virtual reality market expands

The Oculus Rift is no longer the only major player in the VR game, as more companies prepare to embrace a market set to explode in the coming years.

The company behind the Rift, Oculus VR, has assisted Samsung in the development of their version. The Gear VR Innovator Edition is compatible with the S6, and will be useful for watching movies and taking pictures as well as gaming.

HTC has announced the Re Vive in partnership with videogame developers Valve, with a preliminary release date of spring 2015. Featuring a 1,200 by 1,080 pixel screen, the headset will be hoping to revolutionise video gaming on its release.

Wearable technology

The growth in wearable tech items continued at MWC, with both updated versions and brand new products on display.

Samsung continued its strong showing of products with the release of three updated smartwatches – the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and Gear Fit.

Huawei also had its recent entry into the market on display. Dubbed the Huawei Watch, the device was one of few on display to still look like a traditional watch. Like most non-Apple smartwatches, the Huawei Watch will run an android operating system.

Pebble also added to its existing smartwatch lineup with the Pebble Steel. Set to launch in July, the watch sports an impressive ten days of battery life. Also announced was the option to add custom straps, such as heart rate or GPS monitors.